Report: Nintendo permitting cross-platform multiplayer

Nintendo will allow Wii U and 3DS developers to implement cross-platform multiplayer with other consoles and devices, according to indie developer Ripstone.

Ripstone’s co-founder Phil Gaskell told Eurogamer that Nintendo recently agreed to the studio’s request to include cross-play for its title Pure Chess – which is already out on PS3 and Vita and coming soon to Wii U, 3DS, iOS and Android.

“We’re launching Pure Chess and Knytt Underground later this year, and on Pure Chess we asked whether we could do cross-platform multiplayer, expecting it to be the typical closed console platform I’ve been used to working with for 20 years,” Gaskell said.

“Within a couple of days they said, ‘yep, no problem. You can have other console players playing against Wii U players. You can have smartphone players play against them. No problem.’”

Gaskell also backed Nintendo’s handling of indie games on its platforms, saying that the platform holder has not been idle in its approach – despite not making as much noise as its competitors about the subject.

“They’re changing their policies on the technical side a lot swifter,” he specifically noted.

The developer added that the cross-play feature is still unconfirmed until Sony also signs off on the matter, but he doesn’t anticipate any problems.

“We’re still talking to Sony about them relaxing their policies, but we don’t think they’ll have any issue with it. So when we launch Pure Chess you’ll be able to play against Wii U, 3DS, iOS and Android players. And when we patch PlayStation those consoles will be added into the mix as well.”

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